Woman dies after she was pushed out of vehicle, run over

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 28/8/2014 (834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman died Wednesday morning after being pushed out of a vehicle and then run over, city police say.

The driver faces a number of charges.

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Jennie Graves was badly injured near the area of St. Anne's Road and St. Mary's Road. She later died in hospital.

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Police investigate the scene at the intersection of St. Anne’s Road and St. Mary’s Road. Purchase Photo Print

Jennie Lynda Lee Graves, 35, was badly injured near the area of St. Anne's Road and St. Mary's Road about 2:30 a.m. She later died in hospital.

Police are considering this the city's 18th homicide of the year.

The driver, Keith Ryan Thompson, 35, faces a number of charges, including criminal negligence causing death and impaired driving causing death.

He remains in custody.

Police say Thompson and Graves were involved in a common-law relationship.

Graves was a passenger in a vehicle -- a truck owned by Popeye's Movers -- when an argument between her and the driver occurred. The argument turned physical, and the driver pushed her out of the moving vehicle, an investigation has revealed.

Police say she was then struck by the rear wheels of the vehicle.

It's alleged the driver continued on for several blocks before stopping. A witness followed the vehicle and later brought the suspect back to the scene.

"The witness was able to bring the suspect back for whatever reason, whether he was in shock at what he had done — we can speculate all we want as to why he continued to drive off and then agreed to go back. But at the end of the day, that's what happened." said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Eric Hofley.

Contacted this morning, Popeye's owner, Mark Routley, said Thompson was an excellent employee who had worked for the company on and off for five years.

He said Thompson wasn't authorized to use the vehicle on personal time, and this was the first time he had driven the moving truck outside of working hours.

Routley confirmed Thompson has been fired.

"Keith is a great guy and I don't know what happened, I haven't heard all the details. But something tragic happened and it's a sad day for us," Routley said. "He was an excellent employee."